Crystal River current., 1887-01-15
ANOTHER RAILROAD HORROR.
Two Trains Collide ON tho baltimore 4
Ohio.

Ohio.
TIFFIN, Ohio, Jan. 4.-The fast train
on the Baltimore & Ohio Railway, which
left New York about o'clock yesterday for
Chicago with five coaches and four sleepers,
all well filled with passengers, collided
with an eastern-bound freight train seven
miles east of this city about o'clock this
morning. The fast train was about fifty
minutes late and was running at the rate of
sixty miles an hour. Passing Republic, a
small station, like a flash, they rushed along
to the curve one mile west OF that town
when suddenly the engineer saw freight
train under full headway within 100 yards
of him. He at once applied the brakes and
reversed his engine, but il did no good. and
the next instant the crash came The effect
of the collision can be better imagined than
described. The engines of the two trains
reared into the air like pair of enraged
living monsters, and then settled down up
on the track, driven into each other until
their cylinders touched. The force of the
impact jammed the baggage cars into the
tender of the fast train, the express car into
the Baggage car, and the smoker into the ex-
press car.
In less than five minutes from the
moment of the collision, and before any Or
ganized effort at rescue could be made,
the fire from the overturned stoves cOmmu-
nicated to the woodwork and the flames
leaped high in the air, their roar mingling
with the cries of anguish of the imprisoned
victims, to whom death in its most terrible
form was horrid presence. The train
men and uninjured passengers were power
Iacs md RI tT,r tI<,
sufferers.
c. p. Bradley, of Washington, d. c., was
found hanging from a window of the
smoker, but his legs were fast and he could
not be moved. There he remained until he
was burned to death, and his charred re-
mains fell to the ground black and shape
less mass. He was conscious, and gave
his address to the bystanders, and also said
that he was an officer of the Knights of La
Dor organization. He gave his watch and
other valuables that he could get from his
pockets, to Conductor Fletcher of the
freight train.
Joseph Postelthwaite, aged 81 years, and
his sons, Spencer, aged Is, and Henry,
aged IL, were sitting in the same seat in
the smoker, and their charred remains were
found in the ruins of the cars.
NJ. II. Parks, whose address could not be
learned, was also wedged in the wreck and
burned to death, after handing his money,
letters and cards to one of the railroad en-
ployes. His body was also consumed as wer
those of several Others, whose names are not
known and perhaps never Wilt
When the reporter reached the scene of
the holocaust at l o'clock today, the ruins
of the baggage car, express car and smoker
and the coach were still burning and scores
of hands were endeavOring to clear the
track. Here and there could be seen sheets
of blood and pieces of half burned and
frozen human flesh, and the wOrkmen
were still finding portions of bodies in the
burning wreck. The mai, express and bag
gage were burned, including large sums of
money.
The scene at Chamberlain establishment
was one calculated to make the stoutest
hearts quail. Nine shapeless trunks of hui
man beings were stretched out in row, like
so many charred logs. There were Mr.. Pos
telthwaite and his two sons, side by side,
and seven others, none of whom could be
recognized, and near them was mass of
flesh and bones that may have been parts of
the bodies of dozen different people.
The Commercial Gazette's Tiffin, Ohio,
special reports diversity of opinion re-
garding the real cause of the accident. All
reports agree that there was carelessness
on the part of the railroad employees, but
whether the blame should attach to the
freight or passenger crew, is a matter of
conjecture. A thorough investigation will
be made. The Coroner has taken charge of
the dead. The Commercial correspondent
gives seven as the number who were killed,
and says that out of fifteen passengers in
the smoker, but one escaped